Dear ifagalz friends, followers, guests and families. It bugs my mind to still find many of us Pacific Islanders belief that somehow, someways, somewhere, we are immune to the COVID19 pandemic. THAT IS A TOTALLY FALSE BELIEF! And you do not have to take my word for it.
Here is a direct quote from the KING COUNTY Race and Ethnicity Data Dashboard and Executive Summary of June 15th. “The rate of confirmed cases is highest among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (1,120.3 per 100,000). ”
If the numbers don’t scare the heck out of you, then I don’t know what will.
It may be confusing for many of us, including myself, because of the mathematics involved around these numbers. But we all must understand that COVID19 is still spreading and as of today, there is NO MEDICATION TO CURE IT, NO VACCINATION TO PROTECT YOU FROM IT, and YES IT CAN KILL PACIFIC PEOPLES TOO.
The only medication, if I may call it that, is to stay home or when out and about wear those mask and stay at least 6 feet apart.
You can choose to stay home or be a concerned Pacific Islander and wear the mask when out in public. If we all wear mask, we’ll all be protecting each other.
It’s been tough on all of us. It sure is. As a people, we mingled, we laughed, we do community stuff, we get together and party down.
I fully understand that and I can’t wait to join in the fun too. But we are in a time of craziness, both in health and in our politics. We are all in this together!
And as our ancestors did before us, we gotta tough this one out too. We gotta do everything in our power to protect our community of Pacific Islanders.
If it means stay apart from each other, let’s do it. If it means we gotta skip them parties, let’s do it. If it means only a couple families will be at our party, let’s do it.
It’s all in the name of caring, loving and sharing our humanity.
Before walking out that door, stop and ask yourself, do I really have to put others at risk by not wearing the mask?
Take pride in the Pacific Islander’s culture of community caring. We do care for each other and what is more islander than wearing a mask to protect others from yourself.
I guess the point of this article is to try to convince you to pay attention and take all the precautions to protect yourself and others from this horrible virus. If I may be blunt, this virus had killed and sickened many of our people. And sadly, it seems like we don’t care that much.
I was at the market just yesterday and I saw most of the people with no mask were Pacific Islanders. I don’t know why but it’s really is mind bugling knowing how this virus had disproportionately affecting our community.
And with all that said, I must say lots of our young folks sailed through all storms and had graduated from their perspective schools. As a community of Pacific Islanders, we must give a huge shout out to these special class of 2020. They did it!
A special class indeed. And to my three graduates in the photos below, I say job well done boys. Sky is the limit. Go get it.
I must also add, we as a community, as Pacific Islanders, must allow our youths to join the Black Lives Matter movement to express themselves.
It’s not because we are against a race or the Police, but because we saw INJUSTICE and no one, I mean NO ONE can just stand idly when we all saw what transpired during that arrest of Mr. Floyd. It’s outrageous! Even the police are against that.
And for our youths, it’s movements like this that brings out their interest in serving the public good. So, in my humble opinion, we should allow them to participate in it because it will help spark their interest in taking part in the public discourse. I am sure many of us, including those that question our involvement, or the involvement of our youths, would love nothing more than to see more of our people become future leaders of this nation.
There is nothing more provoking, stimulating and more impactful than to partake in something of such importance. We, the older gen, should just calm down and let our youths get involved. We should encourage them to partake in it and let them know that INJUSTICE will not prevail.
God, please help them reach their goals and bless them with a fulfilled life with joy, happiness and health.
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Every time I think of my Pacific Islander Heritage, it reminds me of the ocean, shores and fishes. It also reminds me of our cultural values such as caring for one another, treating guests as sons and daughters of the chiefs, kings and queens, and above all, staying humble.
You know what? If the scenery is not what you desire, there’s a way of dealing with that. You can uproot everything and move, or you can get to work and change it for the better. Not so much for the better as I have heard it many times; “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” but make it to your satisfaction. What’s more bettern than sitting back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Ika met? Gare meta?
Oh Micronesia, please leave me alone in peace. I am here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and am enjoying the calls of the seals and sea lions, the buoy horn sirens in the distance, and the humming and roaming of my two generators. Enjoying the sunrise and the smell of the Pacific Coastal waters.
“There is no role in life that is more essential than that of motherhood.”
Enlightenment MOTIS (Music Of The ISlands) and LOTIS: (Lore Of The ISlands) . My greetings to you today is in the form of this one
The PICAWA FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION has moved to 3 PM to 6 PM! Yes, you read that right. It’s now from 3 0’clock Pacific Daylight Time and runs until 6 0’clock in the evening. It’s a 3 hours window!
“You guys are amazing. Thank you for helping our Pasifika family. I really wish we can say the same here, but rest assured, we are learning from the Washington PICA Team”